Horváth János: Rippl-Rónai József iparművészeti munkássága, az Andrássy-ebédlő (Kaposvár, 2013)
The Andrássy Dining Room as "hortus conclusus"
The Andrássy Dining Room as"hortus conclusus" The reconstruction of the dining room, ordered by the Rippl-Rónai Museum, aims to examine the dining room as a whole. This study wishes to introduce the furnishings on the basis of their relation to this whole, therefore the criticism that focuses on the shortcomings of Rippl-Rónai's knowledge about function and material, along with the perspective that acknowledges him only as a painter, the master of smooth surfaces, is not taken into account here. The Andrássy Dining Room as an inner spatial system models the concept of the garden. The isolation of nature, the transformation of the wilderness into a garden, and the praise of abstract, unadulterated female beauty are frequent themes of Art Nouveau and Symbolism. The "hortus conclusus" ("enclosed garden") appears in medieval tapestries and paintings as the shelter of rich ladies' pious contemplation. Regarding the function of the garden, five types of concept exist: the "Paradise Lost"; the magician's garden; the sinister, night garden of Gethsemane, the place where Christ was captured; the garden as the scene of Christ's resurrection; and finally, the garden of dawn and light, the enlightened man's ideal surroundings. Rippl-Rónai became familiar with the symbolism of the garden in Paris, 1895. Bing requested him and Knowles to provide Belgian poet Georg Rodenbach with inspiration, by creating a colourful series of lithography titled "Les Vierges" ("The Virgins"). According to Rippl-Rónai, "My book consists of light, youth, sunshine that paints the landscape golden, young women in their prime who hesitate whether to see life, and later they look back peacefully, etc. It is but a short dream." His words mostly relate to the concept of the fifth garden. His pictures portray ethereal, comely women wearing hats and long dresses, standing under trees that are laden with fruit. One virgin is sitting in the soft grass, pensively; the other is walking contemplatively, with a book in her hands. Three girls are chatting gracefully, imitating dance moves. Rippl-Rónai was probably still under the influence of this picture during his consultation with Count Andrássy in Tőketerebes. He was introduced to the pretty Countess, of whom he made a beautiful pastel portrait. Taking long walks by the manor, he could have seen her standing in the garden. The pictures created between 1892 and 1896 display the development of the garden's comprehensive concept. The fireplace as the representation of hearth was subjected to constant change. On the first sketch, the highlight is on a flowery ornament on the ledge and a mirror above it. A female portrait is standing on the fireplace, lacking any organic connection to it. The portrait uses the same profile arrangement as the well-known "Portrait of Countess Andrássy". Rippl-Rónai seemed to be interested in the laudatory portrayal of the Countess. Five years earlier, he designed the life-size, elegant, and graceful woman of the oil painting "Woman Holding a Rose", and later he placed her in a garden ("Woman in the Garden", 1896). All he needed was to replace the face with Countess Andrássy's. Compared with the sketch, the complete fireplace was constructed in a much simpler way. The picture of the Countess was hanging above it, surrounded by proliferating plants. The flower in her hands refers to the magical smell of roses, which is a component of refined eroticism. She can be identified by her similarity to the figure in the pastel portrait, and by a wedding ring on a finger of her left hand, previously not displayed. The concepts of "hearth" and "garden fairy" seem to converge. The "Woman in Red" can be interpreted both as a profane icon and the guardian angel of the home.
